Abraham and Sarah - Scriptural Lessons in Marriage

 Most of the time, reading the Abrahamic story is inspiring for me. But this last time going through Genesis, I looked at events through the lens of being a very possessively married woman. In particular, I was taught about marital trust and sacrifice--perhaps in the ways that bother me the most.

I have a professor on this subject that discussed Abraham and Sarah's journey to Egypt early on in their story. Sarah is taken from Abraham by the Egyptians who find her attractive, and she is housed in the Pharoah's home. As a child, I assumed this just meant that they tried to adopt her into their culture; my professor told me that she was taken into the Pharoah's harem.

That's a little different.

My professor then elaborated on the lessons learnable from this story: he said that his wife is a teacher, and there is a very attractive math instructor at the school where she works. My professor stated that he had to have the daily confidence in his wife that she wouldn't begin to yearn for this other man, despite her daily proximity to him while away from her husband.

My husband was single for quite some time before we were married; he had years to cultivate a sense of pursuit in relationships, particularly when a girl was in an emotionally painful position. He's very empathetic, and sometimes it's hard for him to watch women suffer quietly to themselves and he cannot do anything about it. Again, since I am possessive, it's also difficult for me because I want him to be able to help people, but girls are attractive and my husband is a man. After hearing this story, I realized that I would really have to let it go. I really would need to trust him--it would be unhealthy and counterproductive not to understand that my husband is strong and that our relationship is binding.

This post may be the first in a series about scriptural lessons on marriage; if so, I will end each of them with a very direct analysis of what you could possibly take away from this. If you are married or dating and you know your partner well, give him/her the benefit of the doubt. Trust your partner with little things if you don't have the strength to trust them with bigger responsibilities; it's likely that your partner wants to help you, support you, do the right thing. I promise that your satisfaction and love will grow as you provide your partner with trust.